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help me pick a jetter

04-23-2011, 08:07 PM

I am going to buy a jetter but am having trouble deciding. I mainly only jet 3", 4" and once in a while, 6" lines, grease and roots and ice. I want to carry the jetter in the 10 1/2' cube van all the time. I am looking at the KJ-3100 with root ranger, american jetter 7gpm 4000psi with 30 gal tank, or making one with pressure washer etc. I am leaning towards the KJ3100 because of the size, am worried I may want more power and regret going with a smaller unit. Any ideas.

Based on the 2 choices I would get the American jetter just because that 7 GPM and 4000 psi with you buying a warthog or a root ranger will make it possible to take on some trailer jetter type work. Having more power in Jetting is always a plus, you can turn it down but you can't turn it up more than it goes.

Comment

If having a ready to work jetter is your priority, then the KJ3100 is better. If you have the time to order all the components to make it work then maybe the american jetter is for you. If memory serves me right, the ridgid show price was 5200 for a complete kj3100. I have a 10' step van and was impressed with how small a foot print the 3100 is. You could easily tuck it away in the corner.

I have a converted pressure washer but I spent so much time and effort to make it complete. Spent a lot of time to find good deals on components but truthfully plumbing isn't my full time job so i had the time. Commiting 3-10 hours looking for parts and deals might wash any potential saving that piecing a pressure washer may have.

Something struck me as odd on the american jetter site and I may have missed it. If you buy a 7gpm 4000 psi jetter by itself, it has a 30 hp engine, buy the complete kit and it has a 25 hp engine. Probalby just a typo.

Below are a couple of links about the features and benefits of the smaller jetters. I always suggest that the best time to buy a jetter is right now. Every day you put the decision off and pass the work on to someone else is another day you are putting the money in their pocket.

3 jobs a day @ $250/choke, over one month is $15,000! What does a KJ-3100 cost??

While you're on the job would it hurt to ask; "Mrs Jones, when was the last time you had your storm water drains cleared?" The answer is almost always going to be, "Never". BAM, a few more hours riding that jetter at $250/hour, beats $90/hr changing tap washers!

I also say, buy a machine that does 90% of the work you intend doing.

Rick is right about the flow from a garden tap.

The last word on jetting, it makes sen$e! Get on, or be left behind!

I must admit, we have it very easy down-under with our weather, no frozen hoses!

Comment

Below are a couple of links about the features and benefits of the smaller jetters. I always suggest that the best time to buy a jetter is right now. Every day you put the decision off and pass the work on to someone else is another day you are putting the money in their pocket.

3 jobs a day @ $250/choke, over one month is $15,000! What does a KJ-3100 cost??

While you're on the job would it hurt to ask; "Mrs Jones, when was the last time you had your storm water drains cleared?" The answer is almost always going to be, "Never". BAM, a few more hours riding that jetter at $250/hour, beats $90/hr changing tap washers!

I also say, buy a machine that does 90% of the work you intend doing.

Rick is right about the flow from a garden tap.

The last word on jetting, it makes sen$e! Get on, or be left behind!

I must admit, we have it very easy down-under with our weather, no frozen hoses!

Comment

my us jetter i bought 9 months ago, has already paid itself off just in the billable time it's been used

my propress has been rented out to others when they need it.

i guarantee you the 1 company that owns a jetter or propress will be able to do jobs that others can't.

there has to be someone who is jetting in your area. and unless you guys can solder with water flowing, a propress will speed up the sit and wait time.

the problem is unless you have someone that offers that service, nobody will know it exist.

prime example is tankless heaters. 90% of my customers ask me about tankless heaters when they need a heater. of course only 1% end up with one. but they do ask since they have heard about them, good and bad.

until your customers and your area is made aware of, and the advantages of a jetter.

why do you think i keep so busy with jetting? because others contractors and plumbers hire me to do their dirty work

the first company in your area to own a jetter and market it to customers and other contractors is the one that will clean up and make money.

no reason why geographics has anything to do with the lack of a better process.

I put together a cart jet with the advise from this forum, about year ago.

At that time i had zero work for it, i started to sell jet jobs, customers see the results and the word spreads, other plumbers are using me to jet for them, i give them a little kick back and its a win win! Once the word is out.....it spreads!

my us jetter i bought 9 months ago, has already paid itself off just in the billable time it's been used

my propress has been rented out to others when they need it.

i guarantee you the 1 company that owns a jetter or propress will be able to do jobs that others can't.

there has to be someone who is jetting in your area. and unless you guys can solder with water flowing, a propress will speed up the sit and wait time.

the problem is unless you have someone that offers that service, nobody will know it exist.

prime example is tankless heaters. 90% of my customers ask me about tankless heaters when they need a heater. of course only 1% end up with one. but they do ask since they have heard about them, good and bad.

until your customers and your area is made aware of, and the advantages of a jetter.

why do you think i keep so busy with jetting? because others contractors and plumbers hire me to do their dirty work

the first company in your area to own a jetter and market it to customers and other contractors is the one that will clean up and make money.

no reason why geographics has anything to do with the lack of a better process.

just like you own and operate a backhoe and not a shovel instead

rick.

What I'm trying to get across to everyone is that areas are different. A blanket statement or thought process that everyone should own this and do that can lead to failure for some.

Your area is different than mine. You have many clay sewers that can break and have inferior joints, a continuous growing season, a higher income base, much greater population density, franchises keeping the wage base up, along with a much larger commercial base. How can you not be successful with a jetter & cables in the drain business provided you work hard and are honest?

I have zero clay sewers, cast iron that has been replaced (or in non-rooty condition from what I've seen), a lower wage base, much smaller population, ZERO franchises, a much smaller commercial base, and many competitive plumbers in knowledge & price.

I know most all of the plumbers here. From 1 guy in a truck to 15 guys with many trucks.

There are three companies that have jetting equipment.

One has a very basic General that puts out 4 gpm or less and a basic nozzle.
Another has a pressure washer type setup with similar specs.

Neither do much with it and I have never had to call them nor have any of my plumbing friends that I have spoken too.

The other has a General Typhoon trailer. Pretty sweet. They tell me they use it in another city 30 miles away from here where they have been trying to get commercial accounts. And noone gives them calls about it here.

Now to throw a monkey wrench and ethical question into it for everyone:

Should you be jetting if you want more/quicker repeat business?

I believe jetting to be a superior way to clean pipes. However, all business' that make more than most of us try to gear their product to generate turnover.

All are designed to generate repeat revenue. Shouldn't you be doing that as well?
If you choose to follow the creed of doing the best job possible, then you should also throw in a RootX treatment after jetting whistle clean so you don't come back for 3 years. No?

Just something to think about.

The ProPress has been worked over well enough in the past. Might be fantastic for you and others. A quick payoff. Jobs done quicker and life easier.

Most don't need & never will need a ProPress. Yes, everyone knows about quickly repairing something with water present. Most for this area aren't going to see that enough to ever justify one. JetSwets work fine.

You know I own a small press tool. Other plumbers here know I own it as I have shown it to them. They don't own one. They don't call to ever need it.....and the plumbing keeps getting fixed.

Just to restate, because of yours and others' experience and knowledge, many will take what you both say as what they should do. And that can be wrong for them. Just take it into consideration when giving recommendations.

Comment

......Think about it. I'm not telling everyone on here to get a backhoe.

J.C.

Oh good, I can't afford one anyhow!

JC, I agree with your comments. We see that in the portable toilet industry. Not every geographic area needs the same variety of units. There are many upscale trailered restrooms available and most people who have them make serious coin. However that would never fly in my area. There's no demand for it and I couldn't generate demand for it either.

Comment

Thanks for all the input. In our area there is no one who jets, and only a few plumbing companies even have an auger. There is one pressure washing company that does do some jetting but not much. I have not done any research to see if the return will be there, but as much for my sake, I would rather haul a hose than the K1500 and reels. I have looked at a lot of types and manufacturers, and I love the portability of the KJ3100, but am nervous of not having the power. The 7gpm, 4000psi will cover everything I need, but is not portable. I am leaning towards the bigger unit, so I can use it in more applications.

Before I buy any tool I determine the need in the market place. Sometimes you just have to create the market for your tool. I designed and built a combination jetter, vacuum hydro excavator truck 10 years ago and used it 10 times in the first year. I sold it for half of what I paid for it. It was before it's time. Now with all the environmental issues, vacuum loaders are very popular!

The first 'cart jetter' I designed at 4000psi 5.5gpm was laughed at by almost everyone in the plumbing industry including plumbers I met at the Nashville trade shows. They all said "You can't clear roots with 5.5gmp!" It was very hard to sell it to my clients and it cost $18k. Everyone knew about the 'eel' and they did not trust this new way of drain cleaning. I had just been married and it took me 5 years to pay it off.

I persevered with it and I found new ways to use it and to sell it. If I lived in an area with lots of cast iron pipes I would sell the benefits of descaling cast iron with a jetter. I would visit all the restaurants and tell them how I could keep their drains flowing with a preventative maintenance program using a jetter and a product like Grease Release. I would offer to clean the moss from the south side of their house making the paths safer to walk on. I would clean their gutters with the 20' gutter cleaning attachment. I would use it to pump out flooded pits safely without the use of 240v. I would tunnel bore under footpaths to save excavation. Septic tanks can be cleaned and resealed with high pressure jetters. The lists stops only with your imagination.

I have sold hundreds of jetters to plumbers over the years and until the owner builds his confidence in his new equipment AND his ability to sell it's features and benefits, it can sit at home getting dusty.

We bought a Hurlco smoke machine years ago. It gets used maybe 4 times a year. Why? Because I have never marketed it and my customers don't know I have it.

We jet to save the customer the cost of digging. We convert 2 dig-ups a month, the rest we jet. We sell a foam treatment (Vaporooter $390) to every 10th customer and guarantee it for 12 months. We get repeat revenue by going back annually so where we lose the drain clean we get the foam.

If you don't believe the area you live in can benefit from a jetter in any way, buy a tool more suited to your area.

We make money by hiring equipment, not from our labour. Sydney won't pay a plumber more than $90/hr because "we are just plumbers". We do use an Honest flat rate system but tool hire is where it's at for me.

I look at the hire companies rate and sell it to the customer that way. We rarely get questioned about equipment hire or material costs.

Without these tools constantly paying for themselves over and over again we would be out of business. What about the cost? Someone told me once, "you need to use other peoples time and other peoples money to get ahead". That's why I lease the equipment, bit by bit.

I remember buying my first Ridgid K-1500B. I knew it was the best and more expensive then the others. I could not afford one and the bank would not lend me the money. I asked the plumbing supplier if I could get 60 days credit, they agreed. I did everything I could to use it and try and pay it off. We were getting $80 per choke back then. I had 3 blockages lined up for it, then not a call for 3 weeks! Could not believe it. Buyers remorse set in...... I managed to pay for it in the end but it stretched me.

Regards, Bill

The definition of Insanity: "Doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result." Albert Einstein

Comment

Thanks Bill, you are a true entrepreneur. I am confident I will use it, I had a smaller gas pressure washer conversion before, and I used it for small restaurant lines. The bigger jetter will do a great job on roots, grease and do it quicker and look professional.